if she was going to cry. The sheen of tears glittered briefly in her eyes.
But this was Raina, so of course she didn’t do anything so unsophisticated and emotional.
“That sounds like an excellent plan,” she said. “Does this mean you’ve decided to remain here at Kirk Investigations?”
“If you’ll have me. I learned a lot about myself in the past few days, Raina. I realize I need this kind of work. I want to search for answers for people who need those answers, even if it brings pain. I feel I was born to open or close doors for those who can’t sleep because they can’t open or close those doors themselves.”
“What about your dreams of taking over your family’s business?”
“I’ve closed that door, and I don’t have any desire to open it again. I wasted a lot of years trying to prove to my father that I could take control of Brazier Shipping. I did my best to be the good daughter to make up for my sister’s wild, independent ways. But now I know I wouldn’t have been happy as the head of Brazier Shipping. Oh, I’m sure it would have provided lots of interesting problems to solve, but I wouldn’t have taken much satisfaction in finding the answers.”
“Why not?”
“Because dealing with financial matters, logistics, and construction problems, to say nothing of the internal politics that is always a part of large business operations, would never have given me the satisfaction I got from finding you and watching Simon and Luther destroy those horrible photos and negatives.”
“Not all cases end in a satisfying way,” Raina warned. “Sometimes it’s too late to save anyone. Sometimes you won’t find all the answers. Sometimes there is no justice.”
“I know. But I can live with the uncertainty as long as I have a friend and colleague to share a drink with afterward.”
Raina smiled. “You definitely have that.”
“Thanks. I suggest we also invite a couple of very interesting men to join us—the kind of men who don’t have a problem with fast women.”
“An even better plan,” Raina said. “Do you know, it’s only here in Burning Cove that I have been able to enjoy one of life’s most amazing pleasures.”
“What is that?”
“An evening with good friends.”
Chapter 49
Simon heard the soft sounds of women’s footsteps on the carpeted staircase that led up to the mezzanine floor of the Paradise. Luther heard them, too. They both rose from the private booth.
Lyra and Raina appeared at the top of the stairs and came toward them. Both women smiled.
“We are a couple of extraordinarily lucky men,” Luther said quietly.
“Yes,” Simon said. “We are.”
When Lyra and Raina were seated and their cocktails delivered, Simon raised his glass in a toast.
“To good friends,” he said.
The words were echoed around the table.
It dawned on Simon that it was the first time he had ever felt the need to toast anyone, let alone good friends. Lyra smiled. He knew she sensed what he was thinking.
“You two gentlemen might be interested to know that Lyra made a couple of phone calls this afternoon and cleared up one more detail that has been bothering us about the Adlington case,” Raina said.
“What was that?” Luther asked.
“It was obvious that Marcella married Charles Adlington for his money, because immediately after the wedding she arranged to have him committed to an asylum,” Lyra said. “The situation was extremely convenient for her, because she had complete control of his fortune. The question was how did Adlington get out of the asylum, and why did Marcella take the risk of trying to use him to murder Raina?”
“I’m assuming you found out it was not a convenient coincidence that he was in the pool trying to drown Marcella when you walked in that day,” Simon said.
“No, it was not.” Lyra picked up her glass. “I spoke with the director of the asylum. He said Mrs. Adlington had signed papers to have her husband discharged against professional advice. Said he tried to talk her out of it but she was adamant.”
“She obviously thought she could manipulate and control him long enough to carry out her plan,” Raina said. “She was trying to kill two birds with one stone. She didn’t intend for him to survive the afternoon.”
“And she made certain that he didn’t,” Lyra said. “But that was the only thing that went right for her that day. After the police left she must have gotten on the phone to Guppy and told her they needed another plan and they needed